Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioner for a vehicle and a controlling method thereof, and more particularly, to an air conditioner for a vehicle which includes a defrost vent and a face vent formed in a straight line, a defrost door part and a face door part formed in a straight line, a duct separator having the defrost door part therein and being mounted inside an outlet, in which the defrost vent and the face vent are formed, to partition the defrost vent and the face vent, and a connection member for connecting a first operating member for operating mode doors with a second operating member for operating an intake door so as to control the first operating member and the second operating member to interwork each other, and a controlling method thereof.
Background Art
An air conditioner for a vehicle is an apparatus for cooling or heating the interior of the vehicle by cooling or heating through the process of introducing outdoor air into the interior of the vehicle or circulating indoor air of the vehicle. Such an air conditioner for a vehicle includes an evaporator for cooling the inside of an air-conditioning case; a heater core for heating the inside of the air-conditioning case; and a mode converting door for selectively blowing the air cooled by the evaporator or heated by the heater core toward parts of the interior of the vehicle.
According to independent structures of a blower unit, an evaporator unit and a heater core unit, such an air conditioner is classified into a three-piece type air conditioner in which the blower unit, the evaporator unit and the heater core unit are disposed independently, a semi-center type air conditioner in which the evaporator unit and the heater core unit are embedded in the air-conditioning case and the blower unit is mounted separately, and a center-mounting type air conditioner in which the three units are all embedded in the air-conditioning case.
In order to increase effectiveness of the interior space of a vehicle, compact-sized and miniaturized air conditioners for vehicles are being demanded. In response to such demand, recently, development of a center-mounting type air conditioner in which a blower unit, an evaporator unit and a heater core unit are integrated is being promoted. As an example, such a center-mounting type air conditioner for a vehicle is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3.
The center-mounting type air conditioner 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 includes: an air-conditioning case 10 in which a blower 20 is mounted at an inlet and a plurality of air outflow ports 12a to 12e formed at an outlet thereof; an evaporator 2 and a heater core 3 embedded in the air-conditioning case 10; one or more temperature-adjusting doors 14 for adjusting the degree of opening of a cold air passageway P1 and a warm air passageway P2 inside the air-conditioning case 10; and a plurality of mode doors 13 for adjusting the degree of opening of the air outflow ports 12a to 12e. 
Moreover, the blower 20 includes: a scroll case 21 disposed at the inlet of the air-conditioning case 10; a centrifugal fan 25 rotatably mounted inside the scroll case 21; an intake duct 30 which is mounted at one side of the scroll case 21 and has inside and outside air inflow ports 31 and 32, which are opened and closed by an intake door 33; an inlet ring 22 which is formed at one side of the scroll case 21 facing the intake duct 30 to guide the air induced through the inside and outside air inflow ports 31 and 32 toward the inside of the centrifugal fan 25; and a motor 27 mounted on the opposite side of the inlet ring 22 of the scroll case 21 to operate the centrifugal fan 25.
Moreover, an air filter 35 is mounted inside the intake duct 30 in order to remove foreign matters contained in the air.
Furthermore, a plurality of the mode doors 13 are formed in a flat type or a center pivot type to adjust the degree of opening of the air outflow ports 12a to 12e (in the drawings, two mode doors are mounted).
Additionally, parts, such as a cam 15, an arm 16 and a control cable 17, are mounted on the outer face of the air-conditioning case 10 to operate the mode doors 13.
The cam 15 has a plurality of slots 15a in response to the number of the mode doors 13 to be operated and is connected with the control cable 17 so as to be rotated at a predetermined angle when the control cable 17 moves forward or backward.
The arm 16 is directly connected with a rotary shaft of each mode door 13 and is slidably combined with the slot 15a of the cam 15 through a pin 16a formed at an end portion thereof.
Therefore, when a passenger manipulates a controller inside the vehicle, the cam 16 rotates by the forward or backward movement of the control cable 17. When the cam 15 rotates, the arm 16 rotates at a predetermined angle by the pin 16a which slides along the slot 15a of the cam 15 so as to adjust the degree of opening of the mode door 13.
In addition, not shown in the drawing, but the intake duct 30 also has a cam, an arm and a control cable to operate the intake door 33.
When the centrifugal fan 25 inside the blower 20 is operated, low pressure is formed inside the centrifugal fan 25 by the rotation of the centrifugal fan 25. Therefore, air is inhaled in an axial direction of the centrifugal fan 25 through the inlet ring 22 and is blown in the radial direction of the centrifugal fan 25. The blown air is discharged to the inside of the air-conditioning case 10 through the outlet of the scroll case 21.
Continuously, the air discharged to the inside of the air-conditioning case 10 is cooled while passing through the evaporator 2, and then, bypasses the heater core 3 by the temperature-adjusting door to move in a cold air state or is heat-exchanged into warm air while passing through the heater core 3. After that, the air is discharged to the interior of the vehicle through the air outflow port 12 opened by the mode door according to air outflow modes so as to heat or cool the interior of the vehicle.
The air outflow port includes a defrost vent 12a, a face vent 12b and a floor vent 12e, and in this instance, the defrost vent 12a and the face vent 12b are arranged in forward and backward directions of the vehicle to partition each other.
In addition, the face vent 12b is partitioned into a center vent 12c in the middle and side vents 12d located at both sides.
The center vent 12c and the side vents 12d are divided from each other by a partition 12f formed inside the face vent 12b. 
Therefore, the mode door 13 which opens and closes the face vent 12b includes: a center door part 13a for opening and closing the center vent 12c; and side door parts 13b for opening and closing the side vents 12d, and the center door part 13a and the side door parts 13b are formed coaxially.
The mode door 13 is assemblable in a state where the mode door 13 is arranged between a left case 10a and a right case 10b of the air-conditioning case 10.
However, the conventional air conditioner 1 has no problem in assembly if the center door part 13a and the side door parts 13b of the mode door 13 are formed at the same angle, but has a disadvantage in that it is impossible to assemble by the existing method if the center door part 13a and the side door parts 13b of the mode door 13 are formed at different angles in the rotational direction.